Professional and Technical Writing/Business Communications/E-Mail
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[edit] Emails in the Workplace
Email (Electronic Mail) is now used by almost every business and company as a way of communicating both within the business and with other businesses across the street or around the world. As a fast, reliable way of sending messages and interacting with people in all sectors of the business world, email has emerged as the number one way of communicating. Historically used as an informal way of communicating to other workers, email straddles the line between informal communication and formal business interaction. Email has become increasingly more formal in manner but is still hard to pinpoint in a business setting because of the inability to tell emotion or tone of typed text. Caution must be used when writing emails in a professional business setting as to choice of words and selection of organizational elements of the document. As stated below, all emails are saved and recorded, as well as potentially read by any number of people. Keep in mind the following tips when composing an email, and always make sure to limit email use in the workplace to business-specific information and topics.
[edit] Composing an Email
Email is a vital communication tool in the work environment. A business email should be treated with the same attention as any other piece of business correspondence. Keep it professional in tone and manner. When composing an email, keep these tips in mind:
Email Subject Line: Write a clear and concise title that describes the e-mail’s content. Keeping the title concise and appropriate to the subject matter allows the recipient to easily identify and follow the email through a conversation.
Do Not Use: Do not use words that are general and can be applied across several different topics, such as hi, look here, important, etc. Emotions are also very unprofessional in workplace emails. Refrain from using words that are unclear as far as emotional feelings and opinions. Emails are best kept factual and informational.
Do Use: Specific words/phrases that are specific to the contained content, such as; about Your Order #4221, or Projected 2009 Budget. Use the title as a glimpse into the rest of the e-mail’s information.
Important Note: Because many companies use spam filters be careful with the words you use in the subject line. Some filters might mark your email as spam or automatically delete it.
Email Body: Keep it short and to the point. Use short paragraphs separated by breaks. This allows easy reading. Make sure that the subject matter of the email does not change mid-way through. Keep the topic the same to avoid confusion.
Email Signature: Include a professional signature with every business email. Most emails have automatic signatures that you can add. Try looking in your preferences. The signature should include:
- Your Name
- Your Company
- Your Contact Information
Sample draft:
[edit] Special Considerations When Writing an Email
Adhere to the Office Standard of Language. Be aware of your company's specific guidelines for email.
In some businesses, the use of slang, abbreviations and expressions are accepted. On rare occasions, the lack of proper spelling is tolerated. Some workplaces view email as conversations or discussion not documents, where the email is an informal interaction between two or more co-workers. Where in others, an email is viewed as a document that is formal and legally binding. Make sure you completely understand which one is the case for you and the compnay you are working for. In all cases, it is a good idea to review and revise your works before you hit the send button.
Keep your message brief. Many people receive several emails a day. Be courteous. Keep your emails short and to the point. In many cases when an email becomes too long, you will lose the readers attention. Here are some tips to keeping your emails brief:
Use a three part structure. State your topic, summarize information, and state your argument or main points for the topic.
Exclude information that is not related to your topic
One topic. Stick to it. If you want to talk about another topic, send a second email or clearly distinguish that you are moving on to another subject.
When quoting something from a previous message, use only what is of importance. Do not resend the whole message.
Make your email easy to read on the screen
- Keep paragraphs short.
- Skip a space between your paragraphs
- Separate paragraphs by headings. Keep the heading on a line by itself. Do not place it among the line of text
- Use bullets, bold, italics, or other stylistic enhancements when you can.
- Use fonts that are easy to read and can be found on the basic, outdated computer systems
Provide a Specific Subject Line. Your subject line can determine if it will be read or deleted. Keep the line specific to the content that lies within the message. Typically, if a message is received without a subject many people will view it as unimportant and quite possibly junk mail. If the e-mail is being sent to someone who receives massive amounts of email messages throughout a day there is a great chance that your message might be deleted on the spot or not read with any priority.
Revise. Take your time before sending your email to revise it. You should make sure that you have not spelled anything incorrectly and that your thoughts make sense. By doing this you will not risk sending unclear messages to the reader. Using the draft folder provided in your email is a good way to go back to the message later and read it over again. Stepping back from the email before you send it will offer you time to collect any additional thoughts. In addition, if your emails contain grammatical and spelling errors the recipient will likely view your message as unimportant and with little or no worth. If you don't take the time to revise a message, why should someone important take the time to read it, especially if it doesn't benefit them at all.
Email is NOT Private. Everything can be retrieved and read. Do not say anything in an email that you will regret later. You open yourself to legal action if you are not careful in the manner and words you use in an email. Any off color references should be kept out of office emails. At work, keep emails professional and related to interoffice topics. There is an unintended audience in every aspect of our lives. For example, we may intend for our e-mail to strictly go to our coworkers; however, there is a chance that our boss or supervisor may obtain access to the e-mail causing severe consequences if it includes inappropriate material in the workplace.
Protect your email privacy:
- Never put anything in an email that you would not want the public audience to read.
- Be cautious of combining personal and work topics in the same email.
- Do not bad mouth someone in an email.
- Do not send an email when you are in an emotional state. Take a step back and review before you think of sending.
- Never include confidential information about yourself or others.
